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Honus WagnerKid Elberfeld was picked over Honus Wagner by Phildelphia, leaving Wagner free to go to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Had it not been for an incompetent scouting report, the great Honus Wagner might have worn the colors of the Phillies instead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the mid-1890s, the Phillies dispatched injured pitcher Con Lucid to New Jersey, where he was ordered to scout Wagner, who was playing for Patterson in a game against Richmond. The Phillies had heard glowing reports about Wagner and hoped to sign him.

Lucid, however, a seldom-used pitcher with obvious defects as a scout, was more enamored with Richmond shortstop Norman (Kid) Elberfeld. "He fields like a demon," Lucid said. "I believe the boy will go far. You can't go wrong investing in him." As for Wagner, Lucid had this to report: "He can hit, but he's too clumsy for the National League." Elberfeld became an above-average shortstop with a 14-year big league career. But the Phillies dumped him after one year. Wagner, of course, wound up in the Hall of Fame.

The Honus Wagner baseball card is listed as the most expensive card in history.